But many saw it as a video thank you to President Barack Obama for saving the Auburn Hills automaker from liquidation and pulling the country back from an economic precipice.

A friend of mine even divined a pro-Occupy Wall Street movement slant to an ad in which a female singer disposes of Elton John, portraying a king, and shouts “Pepsi for all!”
And there were two more ads, both by General Electric Co., that spoke to an issue you’re going to hear a lot more about in this year’s presidential campaign — the resurgence of American manufacturing.

The GE ads were set in two of the company’s plants — a refrigerator factory in Louisville, Ky. and a turbine manufacturing operation in Schenectady, N.Y.

“We’re at the forefront of revitalizing American manufacturing,” says one refrigerator plant worker. “We’re proving it can be done here, and it can be done well.”

The turbine plant ad dealt with the broader importance of domestic manufacturing in an amusing way.

It suggested there would be no Budweiser if GE didn’t make the turbines that produce the power that allows beer to be brewed.

(GE, by the way, also is bringing 1,300 jobs over the next five years to its new Advanced Manufacturing and Software Center near Detroit.)

The company’s ads touting its American investments come as the Obama administration is promoting what it sees as a comeback in U.S. manufacturing.

Critics have complained that GE isn’t exactly a symbol of American jobs. It employs thousands more people outside the United States than it does at home.

But as New York Times columnist Tom Friedman recently pointed out, there is no such thing as outsourcing or insourcing jobs by global corporations like GE anymore. They simply source the best talent at the lowest cost from around the world.

Despite the political bickering, the Super Bowl extravaganza showcased two areas in which Americans can compete with anyone — creativity and innovation.

It took thousands of filmmakers, actors, copywriters, marketers and technicians to create the ads and broadcast the game.

A record 111.3 million people watched the contest that pitted the New York Giants against the New England Patriots. The Giants won, by the way.

Even more viewers — 114 million — tuned in to watch the halftime show put on by Michigan’s Madonna, the queen of reinvention.

The game generated nearly $300 million in advertising, ticket and concession revenues, according to published reports.

Players on the winning team earned $88,000 for a couple hours of work. Even the losers took home $44,000 each.